Science: Rendezvous with Mars

After a voyage of more than five months and 248 million miles, the first
of a trio of terrestrial ships made its rendezvous with Mars late last
week. Precisely on schedule, the 1,300-lb. U.S. Mariner 9 fired its
retrorocket and went into a looping orbit around the red planet,
swinging as close as 800 miles to the Martian surface. With that
successful maneuver, controlled entirely by its onboard computer, the
$76.8 million windmill-shaped robot became the first man-made satellite
of another planet. As pictures of the dust-obscured Martian surface
began reaching earth, delighted mission controllers at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in...